Okay, word to the wise: as tempting as it is, do NOT try to climb these Donald Judd sculptures. 

I know what you are thinking.  It would be fun! You could get a great view of the other art in the museum! Trust me, it’s a bad idea.

Other than posing as an interactive play structure, this piece is the epitome of the Minimalist art movement.  Taking abstraction to the extreme, Judd and other like-minded folks believed art shouldn’t try to be anything that it’s not.  Ergo, sculpture should only be what it is.  The result was lots of shiny metal boxes and shelves that again, you are not supposed to get on top of.

This one is particularly slick looking, and wouldn’t seem out of place at the home of a big shot Hollywood producer.  Though it’s made of copper, the gold color screams luxury.  It’s also a sort of Jetsons moment, where shiny metal forms were sure to be the future of art, like the polished chrome fins on muscle cars were at the peak of 60s visual culture.

So polished and clean and even. Just begging you to grab hold with sticky fingers, get a leg up and haul yourself- but, no! I can’t condone that sort of behavior.  Not officially at least.